Regal Princess: Piazza Venues and Activities--Part 1

Hubby and I spent a lot of our time in the Piazza or atrium area on decks 7 (Promenade), 6 (Fiesta), and 5 (Plaza).  This venue is stunning.  When we first boarded the Regal, we stopped here to take in it's beauty.  If Hubby is stopped in his tracks that says something.

Looking up from Plaza deck 5:

Looking down from Promenade deck 7:

Looking across on Promenade deck 7:

Looking across to the three tiered central venues.  If you sit anywhere in the central venue, you have a great view for people watching and entertainment:

Close up of the three tiers.  The top venue is the Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar...think Sushi!  The middle tier is the Bellini's Bar.  The bottom tier is a sitting/lounge area.  The bottom lounge is also used for the Royal Afternoon Tea ($):

Yes, I burned many calories walking up and down these and other Piazza stairs.  The glass sculptures remind me of small rays:

Here's a close up of the sitting/lounge area (bottom tier).  Nice comfortable chairs and couches.  I saw many folks here with their laptops, Kindles, and iPads:

Of course, the flower arrangement caught my eye:  

Later in the cruise, I come upon the Royal Afternoon Tea ($) which starts at 3:30pm.  Here's a serving setup for the Royal Afternoon Tea ($).  I would have taken a picture of this venue all decorated, but I came by late and there were folks enjoying their afternoon tea.  I did not want to spoil their enjoyment by taking a picture as they bit into their scones with clotted cream and jam:  

The Royal Afternoon Tea ($) looks like it's offered during sea days.  I will double-check the Princess Patter to verify.  The Royal Afternoon Tea costs $10 per person which includes fresh berries and cream, scones, and other indulgent treats.  If you look in the above picture, you can see chocolate covered strawberries!  For $20 per person you can add some classy champagne to go with your afternoon meal.  I did find a picture I took of the Royal Afternoon Tea:  

Note:  There is a regular afternoon tea (included) hosted in one of the dining rooms that starts also at 3:30pm.  I was not able to find it listed in the Princess Patters, but I did occasionally see a long line out the door of the dining room around 3:20pm (for those lining up and ready to eat again).  I did not attend this event on the Regal, but have on other Princess ships in the past.  I assume they still serve scones and finger sandwiches in the dining room.  

We're now up in Bellini's Bar (middle tier).  There's comfy chairs here.  Even when the venue is not open, you can still take a seat and enjoy the surroundings:  

Open from 11am until late:

The backside of Bellini's walking from the front (forward) of the ship:

Here we are at the upper tier or Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar ($).  I really like the decor here.  On sea days, it's open from 11am-11pm.  On port days, they're open from 4pm-11pm.  On embarkation day, open from 1pm-11pm:

Enjoying the view of the glass decor hugging this seafood bar: 

Hubby and I ate here one evening and it was just awesome!  It was the whole dining experience that made for a enjoyable evening.  

Others are are enjoying this lovely dining experience:

While we were waiting for the sushi chef to make our meal, I ventured out for a few minutes.  I came back and Hubby had confiscated my camera.  So, here I am in t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops!  Yes, I'm really comfy in casual wear.  Behind me, you can see a few of the shops on the outer areas of the Piazza:

Here's the backside of the Ocean Terrace:

During the later afternoon or evening, you might hear Trevor Cole playing on his steel pan drum:

Or you might hear the Palonia String Quartet playing center stage on the Plaza deck:

Here we found the Captain's Welcome Aboard party during the first formal night:

Captain Perrin did a fantastic job of entertaining us.  He's funny and very personable:

Balloons for the balloon drop at night: